Shadows From the Moon
by BaronessBlixen
Summary: Set in "Moon Dance": Daphne realizes Niles has feelings for her and stops him before anything else happens. One-shot.


**A/N**: A short one-shot without real plot. Daphne realizes Niles has feelings for her and stops him before anything more happens. A "Moon Dance" story.

* * *

Later she would not be able to recall the exact moment she realized it. Like the dance, it was one fluid motion in which she found herself caught up. Niles loved her. As she followed the steps to the tango, a dance she knew too well, her mind kept repeating the words he had said. The words she had made him say. Daphne had started this as a game, not thinking it could mean anything. What a bliss ignorance clearly was! She never would have agreed to go dancing with him had she known. Known that he had feelings for her that went beyond friendship.

The dance seemed to stretch on forever, yet only last a few moments. Daphne told Niles what, and who, to be so they could fool these snobbish people. She didn't consider him to be one of them. For her, this had always been Mrs. Crane's life. Niles had, as he always did, only tagged along. He was following Daphne as well. The tango changed him, made him the man Daphne knew he wanted to be. This was a Niles she had seen glances of from time to time. In those rare moments when he stood up to his wife, when his blue eyes cleared like the sky on a foggy day that was when she had seen this assertiveness before. Daphne had fallen in love with dancing for the very same reason. It transformed a person. It had transformed her and Niles; for the moments they were dancing, they were different people.

Daphne wouldn't have said anything, she wouldn't have started it. She really shouldn't have told him to give it up, to let it all out. She had done it to make him lose himself in the dance. She hadn't seen it coming. She stopped for a nanosecond, not perceptible to the human eye, when he told her he adored her. Her own feelings had flooded her, rendering her speechless for just a short moment. He couldn't have these feelings for her. He just couldn't. Before that night, before that dance, she had sometimes feared it and always told herself that it wasn't true. She had simply imagined it – silly Daphne – but that moment, that outburst had told her the truth. The way he acted, not just the words he said, they told her it was true. She knew him; she already knew him too well to pretend he hadn't meant it. They were in the middle of the dance; they were in the middle of a room full of curious spectators. Luckily, Daphne was a much better actor than Niles could ever be.

"I adore you, too."

More words she shouldn't have used. She realized it the moment they were out, but she had wanted to say them so badly. This night wasn't just special for him, it was special for her, too. She felt like someone she wasn't, yet who she had always wanted to be. She was a girl from a different background, with a different family. She was no longer the working girl from Manchester; Daphne was a woman worthy of Niles and his social standing. At least she would be for the remainder of the song, their dance.

"This is the most glorious night of my dreams."

"Mine, too."

The way he looked at her, Daphne realized how wrong it was – and how deep his feelings for her ran. She had known there was something, even before everything. She had not thought it was that bad. If she dared to believe it, she was certain it was… love. She hardly dared to think the word. His face was close to hers, the desire written all over his face. Daphne knew she mirrored his feelings. Many times she didn't think of Niles as anything other than Dr. Crane's brother or Mr. Crane's son. He was a married man. He was not someone she could just date. The feelings she had harbored for him, the ones that had sneaked up on her during the dance, she had to keep hiding them. She just wanted to prolong the moment, get a glimpse, a touch, of what this could be if things were different. So Daphne let him kiss her. It was a sweet kiss, not passionate, yet it tore at her heart. She relished the taste of him on her lips, the feeling of his hand on her back, making her feel safe. She knew it had to end way too soon. Daphne had to end this charade.

"I knew you were a good dancer, but I had no idea you were such a good actor."

Daphne watched Niles' heart break. She deliberately made herself look at him, see his disappointment. How she wished to tell him she was disappointed as well. It was unbearable. She had to tear herself away from his face because she was afraid to crumble. Looking at the other people roaming the room, knowing she didn't belong there, gave her a moment to breathe. She didn't want to cause him pain; more pain, because Mrs. Crane had caused him so much already. She had to. Daphne kept reminding herself that she was doing the right thing. She never should have agreed to come with him. Maybe she wouldn't have, had she only known about his feelings.

A part of her was relieved that he had declined another dance. She had wanted to be in his arms again, just for one more, but she knew it would only make things worse. Daphne disappeared into the bathroom, leaving him alone to ponder what had happened. As she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, she saw the change in her eyes, on her lips. She couldn't believe it. Niles didn't just have a crush on her, he was in love with her. She had seen it; she had felt it.

"Don't tell anyone, but I think you and Niles make a much prettier couple than him and Maris," A woman suddenly appeared behind Daphne. Her face seemed strangely familiar, she must have seen her at some point during the night. She wanted to refute her words, but her tongue felt thick and heavy in her mouth.

"I don't think I have ever seen him this happy." The woman smiled – not in a catty way – and left Daphne alone with her thoughts. She had made Niles happy – even if only for one night. That was all that mattered, she told herself as she walked back to join him. Before she entered, she saw another woman walk away from their table. Her heart hammered in her chest. Now that she knew she didn't want him to… Daphne didn't let herself finish the thought. Niles deserved to be with someone. As much as she wanted it to be her, she knew it couldn't be. Ever. The word seemed harsh in her mind, but it was the truth. She savored the moment when he took her arm. They were just two people in love who couldn't be together. As they walked out together, Daphne lost herself in a daydream: maybe one day, just as a possibility, they might be able to do this for real.

**END**


End file.
